In order to enter Holy City, one must first pass through another place!

Tranquil Mountain City!

Tranquil Mountain City's position in the Banished Lands was second to that of Holy City but not because of its power. Instead, this was because the governor's daughter had in-laws with a collateral relative of a son of the Ye family! Even though that son was merely a collateral relative, he holds a relatively high position in the Ye family. Since the governor's daughter was able to land this son, naturally, no one would dare to provoke this heiress.

As such, the heiress had taken the opportunity long ago to rule as a despot!

She had implemented a rule for Tranquil Mountain City - anyone who wishes to pass must fork out a hundred thousand gold pieces! If one does not have the money, one could use other items to barter as well. Tranquil Mountain City was her territory after all so if one wished to pass through her territory, one would have to pay the toll!

Hence, when Gu Ruoyun reached the city gates, she was stopped by armored guards.

"Can I help you?"

Gu Ruoyun raised her eyebrow and turned towards them. Her face was calm and collected.

The man standing in the middle of the group was clearly their leader. He frowned as he observed the young girl in green before him. He spoke arrogantly, "Miss, are you not aware of the rules in Tranquil Mountain City? Anyone who wishes to pass must hand over a hundred thousand gold pieces!"

"A hundred thousand gold pieces?"

Gu Ruoyun was shocked at the number before presently replying with a sneer, "A hundred thousand gold pieces? Sorry, I don't have that kind of money."

"You don't?"

The leader laughed icily and rudely blocked Gu Ruoyun from the city gates. He raised his head and looked down at her arrogantly, "If you don't have a hundred thousand gold pieces, you can use other items for exchange. However, based on your plain and simple garment, you're definitely not a lady of nobility. Therefore, the Tranquil Mountain City Gates will never open for the likes of you!"

"What if..." Gu Ruoyun narrowed her eyes and smiled, "What if I said that I insist on passing through this place?"

"Then my apologies, we're going to have to trouble you into paying our Lady a visit. But let me give you a piece of advice, I can't guarantee that you'll come out alive after meeting our Lady." The leader replied arrogantly.

From his observations, this simple-looking woman does not seem to come from noble origins.

Furthermore, their Lady's fianc was a disciple of the Ye family so regardless of how powerful one's backers are, how could they even compare with the Ye family who was number one family in the Banished Land, the Ye family?

"Sorry, I don't have that kind of time."

At this moment, Gu Ruoyun's heart was only concerned about Qianbei Ye's condition. All she could think of was retrieving the Hell's Lotus as soon as possible. So, obviously, she would not want to linger and waste any time here.

"Damned girl, you'd dare to set your condition after turning down a request! We'll only give you two options. One, get out of Tranquil Mountain City. Two, follow us to meet our Lady."

The leader laughed icily and stared haughtily at Gu Ruoyun.

At this moment, some onlookers could no longer bear the sight of this and hurriedly tried to advise Gu Ruoyun, "Miss, perhaps you should just follow our example and give them the hundred thousand gold pieces. Sigh, my business requires me to pass through Tranquil Mountain City so I have no choice but to use the money to avoid misfortune."

Even though many people have not been happy with Tranquil Mountain City's extortion tactic, they had no other choice. They would never pass through this place unless they absolutely had no other options.

"See that?"

The leader grabbed the hundred thousand gold pieces which had been surrendered by the others and looked at Gu Ruoyun coldly, "Do you know what the phrase 'a wise man submits to circumstances' means? If you don't understand this principle, your life will be a waste! I won't barter with you on account of your youth. You should leave this place immediately and never set foot in Tranquil Mountain City again."